Before the 2013 election, Tony Abbott gave us fair warning that he would turn the clock back on the environment. As promised, his government has devoted itself to short-term economics and the sort of hardline…

If the Abbott government is clearing the way for a bold reform agenda, the shape of the new direction remains shrouded in mystery.
AAP/Dan Peled28 août 2014

The Coalition entered the 2013 federal election without a health policy. After a year in government, it remains without one. While there has been activity in the health arena, there’s been little coherent…

It is reasonable to surmise that the number of boats attempting to reach Australia has fallen dramatically in the Abbott government’s first year.
AAP/Jon Faulkner28 août 2014

In opposition, Tony Abbott and his alternative government set itself a three-word performance indicator for success in its refugee policy if and when it took office: stop the boats. With one recent exception…

Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s radical changes to the education sector have been wildly unpopular, perhaps because he has no evidence to defend their worth.
AAP27 août 2014

Education Minister Christopher Pyne was appointed at a time of innovation, contention and uncertainty at all levels of schooling and higher education. One year in, his distinctive agenda is becoming clearer…

Ian Macfarlane – here at the Anglo Australian Telescope in April – had science lumped in with his industry ministry.
AAP/Alan Porritt27 août 2014

On science and technology, the Abbott government is somewhat of a paradox. On one hand, the government passionately believes that deregulating the university sector is essential. By taking caps off fees…

The Abbott government has appointed several people with business backgrounds, such as Tony Shepherd (left), to key inquiries in its first year in office.
AAP/Nikki Short26 août 2014

Since coming to office, the Abbott government has initiated a wide range of reviews into policy areas such as the national school curriculum and the Renewable Energy Target. Some commentators have argued…

The Abbott government is all for free speech except when the speakers are green activists like Mackay Conservation Group’s Ellen Roberts.
AAP/Dan Peled26 août 2014

The federal Liberal Party, government ministers, Coalition MPs, the Minerals Council of Australia and the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) are targeting the advocacy role of Australia’s environmental…

Tony Abbott has the support of business leaders, but will it last?
Nikki Short/AAP25 août 2014

In his victory speech on election night last September, prime minister Tony Abbott declared Australia was “under new management and … once more open for business”. There were, of course, specific promises…

When Australian prime minister Tony Abbott came into office last year his aim was to be remembered as the “infrastructure prime minister”. In the Coalition’s September 2013 policy to “Deliver the Infrastructure…

In its first year in office, the Abbott government has been revealed as utterly tone-deaf when it comes to matters of political ideology.
AAP/Lukas Coch24 août 2014

As we approach the first anniversary of the Abbott government coming to office, The Conversation is examining how the Coalition has fared in remaking Australia and keeping its election promises. Labor…